Five suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) arrested in the wake of the violent clash between the separatist organisation and security operatives in Emene, a suburb in Enugu state will soon be charged to court, the police said on Monday.
While the DSS said two of its personnel were killed in the attack, IPOB on their part claimed 21 of its members were killed.
The spokesman of the Enugu police command, Daniel Ndukwe who spoke on the violent clash said the five persons so far arrested are presently in their custody.
According to Ndukwe, the arrested persons will be charged to court once investigations are concluded.
Meanwhile, the IPOB on Monday vowed to retaliate the attack and killing of its members in Enugu by security operatives.
IPOB head of Media and Publicity, Emma Powerful in a statement said their leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu had directed had asked their members to stop further meetings in the coal city in view of the violent clash.
He said the decision was to allow the group appraise and handle what he called “unprovoked and unwarranted attack by the Nigerian security agencies on armless IPOB members”.
Kanu was said to have also asked his members to henceforth defend themselves in the event of any unprovoked attack by security operatives, warning that enough was enough.
“ Our leader gave the order yesterday during his worldwide broadcast that any time Nigeria security personnel attack our members without provocation, IPOB will reciprocate immediately and those saboteurs and inconsequential traitors must go down without delay.
“Time has gone when IPOB would allow no longer soldiers and police in Nigeria uniforms to be killing and slaughtering innocent and unarmed citizens of Biafra. Therefore, Nigeria police must leave IPOB members alone; we are not happy seeing our people are being murdered in cold blood without any offense.
“We remain peaceful in our agitation but nobody should take our stand for granted because we must respond accordingly. Our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a patient man who loves his people Biafra and other tribes scattered all over Nigeria.
“Oduduwa’s Amotekun are armed, Fulani Miyetti Allah are armed, Fulani terror herdsmen are armed, Fulani funded bandits are armed, Fulani Ansaru Brigade is armed. They all gather in public without any military interference.
“But as soon as Biafran youths congregate in any location to pray, every Nigerian military formation including police, DSS, Army, Air force stationed in Biafraland will descend on them, firing indiscriminately with the intention of killing as many innocent people as possible because IPOB is a peaceful movement.
“The most shocking and annoying thing is that some journalists report the attack on our innocent members as clash, clash with whom. How can armless Biafran youths clash with well-armed Nigerian security personnel who e=invaded the praying and meeting place of our innocent members and attacked them unprovoked? Please, we appeal to journalists to always put the situations in proper perspective so that the world would know the true position of what our people are going through”.
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